


You're in the clouds (but the ground beckons)

by stardustachilles



Series: Acosmist (one who believes nothing exists) [5]
Category: Dysprosium
Genre: "Shovel Talk", Alex gives awesome hugs, Alex is 24, F/F, Other, Sara is 17, meet the parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 18:57:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9916439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustachilles/pseuds/stardustachilles
Summary: Alex meets Sara's parents.





	

Sara padded down the stairs with the intention to find her parents, sit them down, and have a long-awaited, mostly adult talk. She nearly slipped in her fuzzy socks on the wood floor and was greeted by the sight of her parents already sitting at the kitchen table, with papers that looked suspiciously like Sara’s report cards and college applications spread around them. She heard her mom say something that started with, “Well, now, look at this—” and decidedly stopped listening, instead sneaking into the kitchen.

She had to climb up onto the counter to reach the second shelf in the cabinets, because she was annoyingly short and their cabinets were annoyingly high, and her mother chose that moment to look up and yell, “Sara! Get off the counter! You’re too old for that!”

Sara grumbled but grabbed her granola bar and slid off, recalling a memory of the exact same thing happening when she was little, only then her mother told her that when she was older she would be able to reach without climbing on the counters. That never happened. “I wouldn’t have to if we had any stools in this house, but all of you are stupidly taller than me and don’t need them.” Her dad didn’t look up from whatever he was writing.

Her mother shook her head exasperatedly as Sara unwrapped her granola bar and dropped the wrapper in the trash, shoving half of the snack into her mouth at once. She pulled out a chair next to her dad, who had been focused on whatever he was doing until now. “What’re you guys doing?” she mumbled through a full mouth.

“We’re helping you decide which college to go to,” her mother said, shuffling a few more papers. “I’m compiling information and your father is making pro and con lists for each college you got accepted to. You have a wide range of choices here, Sara. We just want to make sure you choose the right one.”

“I already know where I’m going,” Sara said. She finished her granola bar. “I’m going to Frostburg State. It has the programs I want there, and the rest of my friends got accepted there, too, so we can all stay together, and stay close to home.”

“But Sara,” her mother protested. “You got accepted to the University of Maryland, too. Why don’t you go there? I’m sure they’ll have the courses you want, too.”

“But there’s so many people there. I don’t want to go to a college with a lot of people, and it’s so far away. Are you guys trying to get rid of me?”

“We just want to set you up for your future,” her father said.

“Yeah,” Sara said, recognizing her opportunity and taking it, “about that.”

She paused, mostly because she didn’t know how to continue, and her mother said, “About what, honey? What’s up?”

“Um,” Sara started. “I’ve kind of been… seeing someone. For a while.”

Sara’s mother looked at her, and set down the papers in her hands. Her father took off his wireframe glasses and set them on the table, pen abandoned beside him. She couldn’t tell what they were thinking.

“Is it Hayden?” her father asked. Sara’s parents knew she was gay, and they knew she and Hayden were close, but Sara honestly hadn’t expected that.

“No,” Sara said. “It’s someone else. You don’t know them.”

“Well,” her mother said, tone almost encouraging but also cautious. “What’s her name?”

Sara blushed a little bit under her parents’ attention. “Alex,” she said.

“Alex,” her father repeated. Sara nodded.

“Are we going to get to meet her?” Sara’s mother asked, resting her elbows on the table.

“Yeah, actually,” Sara said. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. She invited us to dinner so she could meet you guys, actually.”

Sara’s father sat back in his chair, hands braced against the edge of the table. “When were you two planning on doing this?” he asked.

“Whenever you guys can do it,” Sara answered. “She said she can be free whenever.”

“Alright,” her father said. “Your mother and I are both free this Friday, if that works for all of us.” He exchanged a look with Sara’s mother to confirm. “We’d like to meet this girlfriend of yours.”

 

“They agreed?” Alex’s voice was tinny through the phone speaker, and Sara nodded unthinkingly to the question before she remembered Alex couldn’t see her.

“Yeah,” Sara said. “This Friday?” It was Monday now, but she could already feel nerves fluttering at the edges of her stomach. She was prematurely trying to come up with topics in case the conversation lulled, but she was almost positive Alex would have that covered. She had been flattering and schmoozing her entire life. Talking to Sara’s parents wouldn’t be too difficult.

“I can be free this Friday,” Alex said. Sara could hear her shuffling papers around it the background, and figured she had probably been working on her thesis paper. That was really all Alex had been doing lately, something about a theoretical rocket design and terraforming Mars. Sara didn’t know what any of it meant, but it sounded cool.

James had once showed Sara blueprints for a plane that Alex had designed when she was drunk a couple years ago, so Sara knew better than to ask about her dissertation. Instead, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“Oh,” Alex said, but it sounded more like  _ ooo _ . “There’s this nice restaurant downtown called Ruby’s. I can make reservations for Friday.”

“Reservations?” Sara asked. “Sounds expensive. You don’t need to do that.”

“Trust fund kid, remember?” Alex laughed to herself a little bit. “I strive to impress.” Sara snorted. “But seriously. Don’t try to wear a t-shirt, but you don’t have to go all out. Business casual, maybe.”

Sara blushed a little bit, and said, “Tell me what to wear.”

She could hear Alex suck in a breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was an octave deeper. “That long sleeve black shirt, with the zipper in the back,” she said. “With your navy school skirt, tights, and your Oxfords.”

Sara nodded, and whispered, “Okay.”

 

On Friday, Sara got dressed in the outfit Alex picked out, threw her hair in a bun, and got in the car with her parents to drive to Ruby’s. They were quiet most of the way, Sara leaning between the two front seats and giving directions from the map on her phone. Her dad knew where the place was, but he hadn’t been there for a while.

They pulled into the parking lot in front of the building, and Sara’s mother muttered offhandedly, “Oh, this is where your father took me on our first date.”

“Don’t be weird, mom,” Sara said. She climbed out of the car and waited for her parents. Her father locked the door. “Please.”

Her parents looked at her, but they each nodded. They were going to try their best, Sara knew, but they were also really protective of her. If they didn’t like Alex, Sara was out of luck. She really hoped they’d like Alex.

The restaurant was warm inside, with soft music and yellow light. The accents were red, hence the name. Sara followed her father up to the little table was, where the waiters or waitresses would seat you from. Sara didn’t know what it was called.

The waitress smiled and greeted them cheerfully, and before her father could say anything, Sara stepped in front of him and addressed the waitress. “Someone’s waiting for us?” she said, unsure in front of her parents.

The waitress understood immediately. Probably Alex’s doing. “Yes,” the waitress agreed, smile never wavering. “Right this way, please.”

She led them to a table, where Alex was sitting, sipping her water, and chatting with someone else. When she saw Sara, she smiled and dismissed the person, and stood.

She greeted Sara first, with a soft ‘hey’ and a hug that Sara didn’t want to end. She could feel her father’s eyes on her back, but Alex’s neck was so much warmer, so she buried her nose there for a couple of seconds. Alex’s hand was on the back of her neck over her hair, the other on her lower back. She hoped Alex wasn’t looking at her parents.

Alex pulled back and touched Sara’s chin briefly, moving around her to greet Sara’s parents. She went to David first.

“Alex Barnes,” she said, and stuck her hand out. David took it, and Sara could see the surprise in his eyes at the strength of Alex’s grip. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Alex met his eyes and didn’t back down, and Sara though this was going to go well.

David pulled back, with an, “And you as well.” Alex smiled her thousand watt smile, and moved to Sara’s mother.

Alex gave her the same greetings, and Margaret replied accordingly. She may have been a little intimidated by Alex; it wasn’t hard. Alex was beautiful, but her eyes were hard until you broke down her walls. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt, but the sleeves were quite form-fitting, and you could see her biceps, and the veins in her forearms were visible. She could be intimidating.

But Sara didn’t think so, because Alex had let her in. She could see behind the polite and cordial exterior, and saw the wariness in her blue eyes. Alex didn’t always trust people easily.

But beside that, Sara could also see past the dauntingness of Alex’s muscles, and it went straight to the attraction Sara felt for her. Alex was wearing a gray top that ended just above her belly button, with a solid sweetheart neckline and lace over it that came up to a crew neck. She had on smooth looking black high waisted skinny jeans, and her hair was curled. On Alex, it didn’t look anything but professional. She was wearing flats, too, which Sara was grateful for, because Alex was already so much taller than her without heels.

They sat, Alex and Sara on one side of the table and David and Margaret on the other. Alex’s hand landed on Sara’s thigh under the table, and instead of sending shivers up her spine, it was calming. Sara let out a breath.

“So, Alex,” David started conversationally, before Alex had the chance to. “What is it that you do?”

Alex smiled, her politician’s smile, and answered. “I’m working on my dissertation for my Doctorate while doing a work-study program with the Goddard Space Flight Center over in Greenbelt.” Sara knew Alex wasn’t trying to brag. She had told Sara before that she hated bragging, so instead she was just honest. Unfortunately for Alex, everything she did was impressive, so it sounded like bragging anyway.

Sara’s mother looked taken aback. Her father’s face was stony, as always. “What are you majoring in?” Margaret asked. She’d never admit it, but Sara’s mother had always found space interesting.

“I’m an astrophysics major,” Alex answered. Sara put her hand over Alex’s on her thigh. “Specializing in planetary and theoretical astrophysics, and minoring in astronomy.”

Sara could tell by her parents’ silence that they were impressed. It took a lot to impress her father, but he appreciated hard work in persistence. That was what Alex was made of.

“Alex grew up in D.C.,” Sara offered, to fill the silence before it came uncomfortable. “Her mother’s on Congress. Her father’s a businessman.”

“Oh,” Margaret said, almost an exclamation. “Anna Barnes. I knew that name sounded familiar.” Alex smiled. Sara believed she had just won her mother over.

“I grew up on the political circuit,” Alex added. “Jumped from hotel to hotel until I was fourteen. I finished high school in three years so I could help take care of my sister while my parents were busy. By the time I was leaving for college my sister was in eighth grade, so she didn’t need me as much, and I went to Chicago.”

“Why Chicago?” David asked.

Alex was still smiling, but Sara could tell she was already tiring of it. Alex hadn’t had to smile this much in years, since the last time her mother ran for her seat. “I grew up with a kid named James,” Alex said. “He had family in Chicago, so while we were both working on our Associate’s Degrees, we moved out there so he could be around them.”

“That’s a long way to move,” David said. Sara could tell he was suspicious of James.

“James was the only person I had until my sister came along,” Alex said. “He’s important to me. He’s like my brother.” Sara could tell Alex only added that last part to keep Sara’s parents off her back about having someone more important. (Distantly, Sara thought they shouldn’t be allowed to be angry if Sara wasn’t even jealous herself, but whatever.) “And I spent my life travelling the world. It gets a lot smaller, the more of it you’ve seen.” Alex took a sip of her water. She was probably wishing it was champagne. That thought made Sara smile.

The waitress came back to take their orders. When they were done, she took their menus, and promised their food would be out soon.

They kept up the polite conversation until their food came out, and Sara was almost proud of her parents for keeping things so civil. She tried to rationalize it by telling herself they were adults, but they were also entirely too protective of Sara and prone to protecting her. Loudly. Against anything.

It was after a moment of silence that Sara’s father spoke again. “So,” he started, because he started a lot of conversations that way. “Who wears the pants in this relationship?”

Sara felt herself tense up. Her father could be brash that way, and Sara didn’t like it. He was probably just doing it to test Alex, to test her reaction. Sara knew Alex would pass.

Sara looked to Alex for an answer, whose smile had turned tense. Sara was probably the only one who had noticed. “What do you mean by that, sir?” she asked respectfully.

“You know,” David gestured with his fork. “Who wears the pants?” he repeated.

The corner of Alex’s mouth twitched. It wasn’t meant to be distracting, but it was, a little bit. “I don’t know if I know how to answer that, sir,” Alex said. “That’s not exactly the point of a relationship, for one person to wear the pants and the other to acquiesce. Relationships are about respect and trust. An equal back and forth. I was lucky enough to have an extraordinary role model in my parents that taught me how healthy relationships are supposed to look.

“I’ll admit,” Alex continued, “that I’ve made my fair share of bad decisions in life, but I’d never hurt a significant other. I’d never do anything without Sara’s one hundred percent, and I’m confident that goes both ways.”

Alex took a bite of her food, as if what she had just said had been nothing. Her father looked stumped, and her mother looked impressed.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly. Sara’s father was showing a new level of respect for Alex, which meant he liked her. Alex picked up the tab even when Sara’s parents insisted.

Alex gave Sara another hug as a goodbye, and shook both her parents' hands.

“Goodnight, sir,” Alex said to David. “It was great meeting you.”

“You as well,” Sara’s father replied. “But call me David.”

Alex’s smile hadn’t wavered all evening, but it perked up a bit at that. Alex shook Sara’s mother’s hand, but Margaret pulled her into a hug and told Alex to call her Margaret.

Back at home, Sara was curled up on her bed, shoes on the floor but still in her clothes. Alex had picked them out, and Sara didn’t want to take them off yet. She was typing a message to Alex on her phone.

_ Wanted to kiss you tonight _ , Sara sent.

The reply was instantaneous.  _ Why didn’t you? _

Sara smiled. _ Couldn’t reach your face _ , she said.

They both knew that wasn’t the reason Sara had kissed Alex, but Alex didn’t say anything. She didn’t know Sara’s exact relationship with her parents, even now, and she hadn’t want to push any boundaries that may have been questionable. Sara had settled for Alex’s incredible hugs, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want her kisses, too.

_ Go to bed _ , Alex said.

Sara sighed but listened, changing out of her clothes and into pajamas (that she had stolen from Alex, but whatever). She grabbed the teddy bear Alex had given her on their first date off the nightstand and cuddled it to her chest under her blanket. She fell asleep warm.


End file.
